The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-04

fciently decrv the infamy of such proceeding,
which will certainly cause Lord Collin to be
black -balled at any French club which he may
wish to join. Probably few people in the United
States realize the horror inspired by the mere
word St Lazare. A detention in that establish
ment even for an nour is sufficient to indelibly
brand any woman with infamv for life. ST
Lazare is the house OF correction for the
women on town."
In Paris, as in every other European capital
except London, vice is publicly tolerated by the
government and subject to certain kind OF
legislation 1t has its special prison, which is
that of St Lazare and its special police who
are known by the name of "Agents de Moeurs."
Every woman on town." and heaven only
knows how numerous they are. is forced to take
out a special license (something like that OF
hack-driver) which Is called 'livret' The
latter has to be countersigned once week by
the police surgeon of the district. Any woman
who is caught plying her unhappy trade with
out livret, one which has not been duly
signed during the eight previous days, may be
arrested on the public street, either by day
| or by night, without any special warrant being
! needed for the purpose. The police are even
authorized to examine tenement-houses. lodging
houses and the inferior class of hotels, In order
to discover if the lady inmates are all provided
with their duly signed livrets The delinQuents.
after spending the right in the cells, are taken
! off early the next morning In the ''Panier Sa-
lade," as the police van is termed. to the St La
zare prison, in order to spend there the three to
| six months to which they have been condemned
| Immediately on their arrest by the "Commis-
saire de Police" on day or night duty at the po
! lice station to which they were first conveyed
when arrested
| Every now and again ''raf1es" or kinds of
hunts are organized by the police. Frequently
| of an evening, sitting after dinner in front OF
the Cafe Richie, on the Boulevard des Italiens, l
have watched the women of the town parading
1 up and down the brilliantly-lighted streets in
- A.~~ xLo~~ l11n %1nxv opn
much better behaved than the London women of
the same class, whose vice is rendered addition
ally revolving by their drunkenness and lntoler-
able vulgarity in the streets. Suddenly, towards
IL o'clock. just as the people are coming out Of
the theatres. the changes. Screams,
shouts and cries are heard and the whole Of the
band who minute ago were strutting slowly
up and down like peacocks displaying their
plumag0, rush by in wild flight,
| reminding one of animals escaping from
| prairie fire. Behind them are the pursuers.
| A more ignoble looking lot of men it is impos-
sible to conceive No man, however poor, who
has any atom of self respect left will ever accept
| the Office of agent de Moeurs," and conse-
| quently their ranks are recruited exclusively
from the criminal classes and from the very viii
| est of the vile. Receiving maximum weekly
pay of $6. they naturally levy black-mail on the
| unfortunate girls to q terrible extent Their
| conduct towards the latter is simply indescrba-
BILE in these hunts. They strike the poor Great
| ures with their heavy fists and clutch hold of
| no vestige of humanity remaining. No one in
terferes, for the notion of passing night in a
police cell and being arraigned the next morning
| before the magistrate for preventing the police
| from doing their duty to any particular unfortu-
! nate is not very agreeable.
| may add that in addition to the women of
the class above described, wives convicted of in
| fidelity are. the demand of the husband, i'm
prisoned for terms ranging from three to twelve
| months. It is, however, only fair to add that
| only the lower classes ever cause their wives to
be submitted to this indignity. and that never
heard of case where any man of society or po-
sition has caused his wife to be condemned to
such an infamy. That Lord Colin should have
for one moment thought Of causing the grand
old Stuart descended Argyll family to figure in
the annals Of the St Lazare prison is simply in
credible.
While writing these lines sngularly sad
| story comes back to my mind, which was related
to me q coupls OF years ago, at Vienna BY the
bassy there The Comtesse de c. belonged
to one of the noblest and most wealthy families
of France. A leader of fashion and the
mother Of three lovely children, no
breath of scandal had ever tarnished
her reputation. On one occasion she was under
the necessity of forbiding her house to for
eigner resident at Paris. The person in cues
ton, who had until then considered himself as
being altogether irresistible and had been ac-
customed to more facile conquests, left her VOW
ing to be revenged A few weeks later she hap
pened to dine at the house of her mother in law,
whose residence was just across the street. in
sight of her own, At 10 O'clock she put on her
wraps, bid good night. and absolutely refused to
be accompanied by a servant, laughingly adding
that, she could see the very moment she got
outside the door the light in her husbands Ii
brary, 1t was not worth while. She had not got
half way before she was suddenly seized very
roughly by two disreputa ble-looking men, one of
whom exclaimed Where is your livretP The
poor Comtesse, utterly parayzed with fright,
did not know what to reply, whereupon the two
hpr To Lead hapn off
to the police depot At length she found words
to cry, But am the Comtesse de c. there
is my house, ring the bell and ask the servants;
there is my mother-in-laws house, where
have just been dining. You are mis-
taken. "Oh, We know all about
that tomfoolery," was the answer Come
along! Comtesse de- St. LRzare. ehl" Half
fainting she was dragged off, pushed about and
where she spent the night with number of the
most degraded specimens of womanhood The
next morning on being landed in the ST. Lazare
prison she was at length able to speak to the
prison surgeon, but not before she had been sub
mitted to the nameless indignities inflicted on
the women of bad reputation when they first ar
rive at the prison. Of course, she was immedi-
atey liberated with the most profuse apologies.
Finding her way home, she got into the house,
locked herself up in ner room. ond after writing
letter to her husband, who was asleep in the
adjoining room, explaining what had taken
place. she seized small revolver on her mantle
piece and minute later pistol shot rang
through the house. On the door being burst
open the Comtesse was found lying dead on the
floor, the letter the table stating that after
the horrible indignities to which she had been
subjected, her name was everlastngy branded
with infamy and that she felt herself incapable
of ever looking into the face Of her beloved hus
band or children again.
GENERAL FOREIGN NEWS.
Attitude of the Center Party of the German
Reichstag on the Army Bill.
BERLIN. Jan. 3.-The Center party is prepar